Asian Inspirations

Discover the authentic in Asian cuisine food

Rice

Mabo Tofu Japanese Style (Mabo Don)

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To Prep
Wash and cook the Japanese rice.
Place the tofu slices on a work surface and lay a clean kitchen towel or cheesecloth over them, then place weight on top of the tofu such as a heavy plate to press out any excess liquid. Set aside for about 30 mins. Then, cut tofu into 3 cm cubes and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together the ginger, garlic, and white parts of the scallion. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the torigara stock, sake, sugar, soy sauce and miso. Set aside.
In a smaller bowl, mix together 1 tbsp of the sesame oil, water, katakuriko and vinegar. Set aside.

To Cook
Heat the remaining 1 tbsp sesame oil in a large frying pan or wok over high heat. Fry ginger and garlic until aromatic, then add the pork, scallion mixture and the tobanjan. Cook for about 2 mins. Use a fork to break up the minced pork and stir the ingredients. Add the liquid mixture. When the liquid comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium.
Add the tofu and cook for 3 mins. Add the katakuriko mixture and stir through to thicken the dish. Cook for another 30 secs.
Divide the cooked rice among 4 bowls and spoon the tofu over. Garnish with the chopped coriander and season with sansho to taste.
Tip: Omit the tobanjan (spicy bean paste) so kids can enjoy this dish too!

Claypot Chicken Rice

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To Prep
First, soak the shiitake mushrooms in warm water until soft for about 30 mins. Rinse the mushrooms and squeeze lightly to remove access water. Remove the stems, thinly slice the caps and set aside.
In a bowl, combine the chicken, sugar, corn starch, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for at least 20 mins.

To Cook
Coat a large frying pan or wok with oil and heat over high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add in the marinated chicken and stir-fry until lightly browned. Add the sausage and shiitake mushrooms, and continue stir-frying for another 20-30 secs. Then, remove from heat, transfer to a plate and set aside.
Place the rice and chicken stock in a covered claypot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the rice for 15 mins over reduced heat, or until liquid is almost dried.
Spread the chicken and mushrooms over the rice and continue to cook for another 15 mins with lid covered, over low heat until the chicken is cooked through. Mix the ingredients around one last time before you garnish with spring onions and serve!

Grilled Chicken Thigh with Coconut Water (Gai Yang)

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To Prep
To marinade, add all the ingredients together in a big bowl and mix well.
Marinade chicken and place the bowl in the fridge for at least an hour.

To Cook
Preheat oven at 170°C.
Pan-fry the chicken in a pan on medium-low heat until cooked or sear both sides on medium-high heat pan; then put in oven for 12-14 mins.
Serve with cooked sticky rice or steamed rice, salad and sweet chilli sauce.

Oriental Fried Rice

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To Cook
Heat wok and add oil and diced onion, stir fry for a couple of minutes until fragrant. Add beaten eggs and let it set slightly before scrambling it to break it up.
Add diced luncheon meat, diced carrots and snake beans, stir fry until fragrant. Add in rice, breaking up any big chunks with the back of the spatula.
Season with white pepper, oyster sauce and soya sauce. Stir through. Taste test and adjust taste to personal liking. Sprinkle with spring onion and serve hot.

Sesame Balls

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To Prep
In a mixing bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour, baking powder and sugar. Pour in the boiling water and stir until the water has mixed with the flour before adding the vegetable oil.
Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes before kneading by hand for a few minutes until the dough is soft and smooth. Allow to rest for another 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces, and roll them into balls. Keep the dough balls covered with a cling film to prevent them from drying out.
Flatten the dough balls into disks and then place 1/2 tsp of red bean paste in to the center and gather the sides and roll into a ball. Set aside and repeat with the remaining dough.
Fill one bowl with water and another bowl with the sesame seeds. Transfer one of the sesame balls in to the water and then quickly transfer the wet ball in to the sesame seed bowl. Coat the balls well and then set them aside for frying.

To Cook
In a wok, heat enough vegetable oil to cook the sesame balls. When the oil has reached a temperature of about 150 degrees Celsius, add the sesame balls one at a time, and fry for about 10 minutes or until golden and puffed up
Transfer the sesame balls on to a drying rack and let cool slightly before serving!

Abalone Porridge (Jeonbok Naejang Jook)

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To Prep
Rinse the medium grain (calrose) rice and soak thoroughly in 950ml water for about 2 hrs at room temperature.
Pry the abalone from its shell using a spoon. Take a 1.5cm incision on the end of the abalone closest to the adductor muscle and remove the abalones tooth. Cut open the intestine and remove the debris.
Clean the abalone by rubbing it with salt. Rinse the abalone and separate the intestine. Cut the intestine into small pieces and thinly slice the abalone meat.

To Cook
Heat a flat pan over a medium heat and season with sesame oil. Add the sliced abalone meat and intestine to the pan and saute. Then, add rice and saute for about 1 minute.
Add 1.9L to the flat pan and increase to high heat to make the porridge.
Once the porridge starts boiling, lower to medium heat. Let the porridge continue to cook until the rice grains become extremely soft making the jeonbok naejang jook.
Transfer the jeonbok naejang jook to a serving bowl and garnish with pine nut powder. Serve with salt and soy sauce on the side.

Note: When buying abalone, ensure that they are still alive in their shell, stored on ice or it is still in the water. Make sure your abalone does not have any fishy smell as that is a sign it is not fresh. Quickly refrigerate them in the coldest part of the fridge and store them in a bowl and cover it with a wet cloth. Use within 24 hours.

Fried Rice with XO Sauce

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To Cook
Place diced pork into a bowl and add in marinade ingredients. Mix well.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Add pumpkin and fry until cooked. Drain. Add oil in the pan and fry eggs. Toss in rice and fry until well combined. Dish out and set aside.
Add 2 tbsp oil and stir fry pork until cooked. Then, add mushrooms, prawns, scallops, Chinese broccoli and pumpkin. Stir fry for 2 mins. Mix in sauce ingredients and heat through.
Pour over fried rice and serve.

Glutinous Rice Mini Dumplings with Salted Egg Yolk

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To Prep
Soak the glutinous rice and mung beans together for 24 hrs and then drain. Add Lee Kum Kee Chicken Bouillon Powder and oil, mix well. Split 1 salted egg yolk into 8 equal portions. Split the remaining ½ of a salted egg yolk into 8 small pieces (for garnishing).
Place pork into a bowl and mix in marinade ingredients. Whip the mixture in one direction until it is about to turn paste-like. Leave in refrigerator to marinate for 30 mins.
Divide the pork into 8 equal portions. Put ⅛ of a salted egg yolk into each portion and roll into a ball. Coat the ball with glutinous rice and mung beans then, add a small piece of egg yolk on top. Repeat with remaining pork portions.
Place the dumplings onto a plate and steam for 15–20 mins or until cooked. Sprinkle the diced spring onions and serve.

Rice Dumplings with Golden Oysters and Dried Scallops

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To Cook
Marinate the pork belly with five spice powder overnight. Soak the glutinous rice and mung beans separately for 6 hrs. Soak dumpling leaves and wrapping straws in water for 2 hrs.
Drain glutinous rice and mung beans. Add half of the Lee Kum Kee Chicken Bouillon Powder into the glutinous rice, and the other half into the mung beans. Mix well.
Boil dumpling leaves and wrapping straws for 10 mins before use. Drain well and set aside.
Divide ingredients into two equal portions. Stack two bamboo leaves together and twist to form a funnel shape. Add a layer of glutinous rice, followed by a layer of mung beans. Top with pork belly, 2 golden oysters, dried scallops, 1 salted egg yolk, remaining mung beans and cover with another layer of glutinous rice. Fold the bamboo leaves to completely enclose the filling and form a pyramid shape. Tie securely with the straws. Repeat each step for the other dumpling.
5. Bring water to a boil in a large stock pot. Submerge the dumplings completely in water. Simmer on low heat for 3 hrs. Take off the heat. Keep covered for another 3 hrs. Then serve.

Braised Quails in Soy and Oyster Sauce

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To Cook
Melt maltose in 80g hot water and mix thoroughly.
Heat some oil in a saucepan. Sauté ginger, spring onion and other spices until fragrant and put them in a reusable sachet bag. Put red yeast rice in another bag. Put both sachets into stock and add Lee Kum Kee Premium Soy Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce, Lee Kum Kee Chinese Marinade, sugar and Shaoxing wine. Simmer mixture over low heat for 40 mins.
Immerse quails in sauce mixture and braise over low heat for 20-30 mins. Remove quails and spread maltose on skin of quails evenly when hot. Cut quails into pieces. Serve with more sauce if desired.

Steamed Rice in Lotus Leaf

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To Cook
Mix chicken with marinade. Heat oil in a pan and stir fry chicken until cooked. Add dried shrimps, barbecued pork and mushrooms. Stir fry for 2 mins.
Add rice and seasoning mix. Stir well until heated through.
Clean fresh lotus leaf and set aside. If using dried lotus leaf, soak in hot water until softened. Drain.
Place all stir fried ingredients on the lotus leaf and top with spring onions. Wrap. Steam the lotus leaf rice over high heat for 15 mins. Remove and cut open the lotus leaf. Serve hot.

Korean Rice Cakes (Songpyeon)

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To Make the Filling
Grind the sesame seeds in a grinder or blender for about 20 secs. Then transfer ground sesame to a bowl and mix in ½ cup of brown sugar and a pinch of salt.

To Make the Dough
Prepare 3 cups of rice powder and sift into a large bowl.
Equally divide the rice powder into 3 bowls. Each bowl should now contain 1 cup of rice powder.
To prepare the basic white dough, add 3 tbsp boiling hot water to the rice powder and mix it with a spatula. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead for about 5 mins, then wrap with cling film and set aside.
To prepare the green dough, add 1 tsp of ssukgaru (mugwort powder) and 3½ tbsp boiling hot water to the rice powder and mix it with a spatula. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead for about 5 mins, then wrap with cling film and set aside.
To prepare the pink dough, add a pinch of strawberry Jell-o powder and 3 tbsp boiling hot water to the rice powder and mix it with a spatula. When the dough is cool enough to handle, knead for about 5 mins, then wrap with cling film and set aside.

To Assemble the Songpyeon
Cut off a piece of the dough and roll tightly between your palms in order to make a ball.
Press in to the ball with your thumb to stretch the dough slightly outwards and then use both of your thumbs to expand the opening.
Fill the well with ½ tsp of sesame filling, then seal tightly by squeezing the edges together. When the rice cake is sealed, shape them in to a half moon shape and set aside. Repeat until all the dough has been used.

To Cook
Prepare a steamer by bringing water to boil over high heat. Using pine needles or a damp kitchen cloth, line the bottom of the steamer to stop the rice cakes from sticking to the steamer.
When the water begins to boil, place the rice cakes on to the steamer ensuring that the pieces do not touch each other. Cover the rice cakes with a final, thin layer of pine needles if using.
Cover the steamer and let steam for about 20 mins.
Prepare a bowl of cold water and transfer the rice cakes in to the bowl when they’ve been cooked. Rinse the dumplings and then transfer to a rack to drain.
Lightly coat your hands with the sesame oil and use them to rub the oil on to the rice cakes.

To Serve
Serve immediately and while warm! Enjoy!